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- Women in Saudi Arabia can now get in the driver's seat as the country officially lifts a decades-old rule that barred them from driving vehicles.
- Women across the country celebrated, with many getting behind the wheel and driving around Saudi streets - the first time they could lawfully exercise such freedoms for since the late 1950s.
- The Kingdom has been working since last autumn to prepare for a fresh influx of female motorists.
Saudi Arabia has officially lifted a decades-old rule that barred women from driving.
Women across the country celebrated, with many getting behind the wheel and driving around Saudi streets - the first time they could lawfully exercise such freedoms for since the late 1950s.
The Kingdom has been working since last autumn to prepare for a fresh influx of female motorists.
Several women's driving schools began popping up all over the country, with many flocking to Princess Nourah bin Abdulrahman University which became the Kingdom's first driving school for women.
State oil firm Aramco even offered driving lessons to its thousands of female employees, teaching them the basics like checking oil levels, changing a tire, and the importance of wearing a seat belt.
Ten women made history earlier this month when they became the first women to receive Saudi driver's licenses. These women held licenses from other countries and excitedly swapped them over.
For many women, their newfound freedom signals an evolving paradigm for women in the country.
"We need the car to do our daily activities. We are working, we are mothers, we have a lot of social networking, we need to go out - so we need transport," Amira Abdulgader told Reuters. "It will change my life."
Women can now pursue jobs that require the use of a car, like any number of the popular ride-hailing services.
"It's not only equality, it's about building our country together," said Enaam Gazi Al-Aswad, who had been poised to become the nation's first female driver for ride-hailing app Careem, according to CNBC."It's about community ... Women and men equally now in Saudi Arabia, not like before."
While the nation is celebrating the historic moment of progress, last month the government doubled down on activists who had been campaigning for the right to drive. At least 12 prominent women's rights activists were arrested since May 15, according to Human Rights Watch. The organization said some of the activists were held on charges similar to those for which other activists are serving long prison sentences.
Women have risked fines and imprisonment for decades
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Women's rights activist Manal al-Sharif attends the TIME 100 Gala, TIME'S 100 Most Influential People In The World on April 24, 2012 in New York City.
Women have been barred from driving since 1957, as part of the country's strict interpretation of Islam. While there was no formal law against it, women who drove in public faced fines and could be arrested. While there no clear explanation for why women shouldn't drive, supporters of the rule argued that driving could lead to women socializing with men, which was seen as potentially disrupting the established order inside Saudi's patriarchal society.
But activists have been campaigning against the policy for years.
In 1990, 47 women were arrested after driving through the streets of Riyadh in defiance of the ban. The movement grew stronger in 2007 when a group calling itself the Association for the Protection and
The movement has continued to grow over the years.
In 2011, Manal Al-Sharif, along with other women inspired by the growing Arab Spring demonstrations, started a campaign called "Teach me how to drive so I can protect myself,"There's also the Facebook group, Women2Drive. The group gained support both locally and internationally, and soon women were risking arrest to get behind the wheel.
Because of her activism, Al-Sharif was detained and released several times, and told not to drive or discuss her situation with the media. Manal has written several books, including Daring to Drive: a Saudi Woman's Awakening. She is seen as one of the world's most influential women on the subject. She now resides in Australia and remains an active critic of the Saudi government, using her experience to push for change.
"I got involved with the [Women2Drive] campaign because women were invisible. It almost feels like women don't exist in Saudi Arabia," she told Business Insider.
She says many factors have influenced the way women are treated in Saudi Arabia.
"It is institutional oppression, and it's carried out not only through policy, but also a general attitude that men have towards women," she said. "We are faced with two evils: The government restricts women with policy, and male guardians restrict women through culture."
She said a woman's place in society starts young, with young girls going through "systematic humiliation" from primary school through college. She says girls should be nurtured to become confident leaders, not mired in shame.
Still, Al-Sharif says she has been amazed by the pace of change in Saudi Arabia over the last year. Since Mohammed Bin Salman ascended to power, the country has lifted its ban on cinemas, appointed women to positions of power, and allowed women to attend soccer matches at major stadiums.
"King Abdullah wanted to make changes for women but wasn't able to do a lot because of internal
The 32-year-old Crown Prince has been pushing for modernization and a complete economic and cultural overhaul in the country through his Vision2030 program. Al-Sharif says Prince Mohammed's desire to revamp the economy has resulted in major policy changes for women.
"The government is realizing how important it is to the economy to educate and include women," she said. "They have no choice - the economy is our best reformer."
But Al-Sharif says there is a lot of work to do.
"Lifting the ban on women's driving didn't come overnight, it's been consistent campaigning to change people's consciousness."
Al-Sharif says change needs to happen in "all facets of society," from education to policy to media, and even home life.
She is now campaigning to end Saudi Arabia's restrictive guardianship laws, which require men to make decisions for women on matters including education, health care, and travel.
"Destructive behavior needs to end and we need to create a culture of respect. Policy can change, but its the attitude that is the real obstacle."
A bright future for Saudi women, but a long way to go
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Dr. Lina Abirafeh, the director at the Institute for Women's Studies in the Arab World, told Business Insider that she has seen surface-level changes enhancing women's rights, but Saudi society has some work left to do.
"Positive steps are being taken but Saudi Arabia still lags behind in terms of women's rights. Saudi Arabia ranks very low in measures for gender equality compared to other countries."
She noted that in the 2016 Global Gender Gap Report, ranking health, education, economic, and political engagement, Saudi Arabia ranked at 141 out of the 144 countries listed.
Abirafeh said small changes in the last year have impacted women's quality of life, and signal positive change to come.
"The ban on driving had long served as a symbol of the country's repressive attitude towards women and their denial of women's rights and fundamental freedoms,"Abirafeh said, adding that there are many other inequalities that need to be addressed.
"Driving is clearly the most symbolic - and visible. This in a society where men and women hardly interact, and where women need a male guardian to make decisions and give permissions on their behalf."
"These recent changes are important, but they come with many conditions and caveats. There might be a strategy to appear liberal in the global arena but it is hard to tell if there is genuine intention for real change within the society - or if these are tokenistic," she said.
She believes Saudi Arabia can do much more for reform at all levels, including repealing laws that discriminate against women, reviewing the country's extreme interpretations of religious texts that deny women freedom of mobility and bodily autonomy, and reaching out to communities to change the patriarchal ethos that exists.
"There is a need to progress gradually but also to be clear that the goal is full equality - without exceptions," Abirafeh said.
She remains hopeful for the future, but is not convinced that Saudi society is prepared for full equality and the implications that come with it.
"Inequalities are many, and attitudes will take a long time to change. It doesn't seem that there is broad-based buy-in to women's rights among the population - yet. And as long as patriarchy prevails, this is a clear impediment to women achieving full rights and equality."